Samantha Cohen     As my Latin years come to a close, I often think back to the Class of 2010 who reigned over the senior hallway when I was a freshman. Though none of them actually know who I am, I have fond memories of Dylan Sharp giving announcements at gatherings and of Chloe Cooper wearing her latest fashion statement which she knitted herself. I guess one never really feels like a Latin veteran until they mention some memory or some story involving an alumni to an underclassmen and they respond “Who?”

Students graduate. Latin sheds its skin and a new fresh layer of students emerges as the school’s leaders. I thought of all this as James Taylor’s “Fire & Rain” played in the background while I got to know Henry Baldwin and Chris Maurice over my final “Starbucks with Sam”. Before I could reminisce with them about Sam Graf’s allstar performance of the beloved James Taylor classic last year, I came to the realization that not only had Chris not seen the performance, he had not gotten the chance to get to know Sam. I thought of all of the alienated freshman who must have feigned laughter as the rest of the school cracked up over Alex Kling’s scholastic bowl video. I thought of all of the names that had flew over my head as a freshman. Now as the cycle continues, as student government leadership is changed, as lounges are preparing for new inhabitants, it is my last chance to form relationships with underclassmen. Ones I’d never had with the class of 2010.

I was super psyched when freshman Chris Maurice asked to continue this column after I leave next year. So we decided to double-team for this issue as we got to know sophomore track star Henry Baldwin. He taught us how triple jump as we headed to Starbs before his practice, one of the last few before the upcoming boy’s sectionals (wish em’ luck)! Once at starbucks, Henry ordered a caramel apple spice and we all discussed the vigor of the upcoming stud gov elections, our summer plans, and reflected on the school year.

Sophomore year was good

but we may not be done yet

It was somewhat hard

but rewarding in the end

Senior year was good

memories will live on for

We tried! After school ends this quarter, Henry will be going on a 21 day canoe trip starting in Manatoba (in Canada …. let’s be honest I had to look it up) and ending in Churchill, which is Canada’s polar bear capital! Coolness! Chris will be working amongst some of his peers as a counselor at Summer at Latin!

– The name on his birth certificate is William (explains his latin email… [email protected])

– His celebrity crush is Mila Kunis

– His favorite cafeteria meal is the short-lived chicken tenders

– Enjoys watching Breaking Bad

I asked both what they would like to see change about Latin in the future. Henry hopes that Latin will pop its “bubble” (the one that is often referred to) in order to continue to become more involved in the greater Chicago community. Chris hopes to see a freshman lounge built for the future generations of freshman. I also asked them to name someone in the Latin community who they may not know but would like to get to know. Henry answered that he would like to get to know Mr. Carpenter because “he seems like a really funny guy.” Chris said that he would like to develop a closer relationship with Ms. Hennessy. As for me? Miya Coleman seems pretty awesome, and I would like to get to know Mr. Perez before I graduate.

Finally, if Chris and Henry could invent a project week together it would be to construct a plane flying machine for the red bull flight contest…in Australia. If that goes down next year, I’m coming back! I had a great time getting to know both Chris and Henry and look forward to reading Chris’ articles next year. If you are a fan of Entourage and are hopelessly waiting for the movie to come out, or miss the Shrimp Po Boys they had in the Caf that one day, you should definitely get to know Henry. If you are looking to befriend a rockin’ swimmer who is super friendly, grab coffee with Chris sometime! Both are super sweet and approachable.